Five Thai nationals held captive by Hamas for over a year returned to Thailand on Sunday, reuniting with their tearful families at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The five returnees are Sathien Suwannakham from Nong Bua Lam Phu province, Pongsak Thaenna from Buri Ram, Watchara Sriaoun from Udon Thani, Surasak Rumnao from Udon Thani, and Bannawat Saethao from Nan.
Dressed in winter jackets, they were met with emotional embraces from their families.
Mr Pongsak, 35, hugged his father Wilas, 65, and both cried with joy.
“I am indescribably happy to come back home again,” Mr Pongsak said. He thanked the government for his return.
"We are all deeply touched to come back to our birthplace ... to be standing here," he said. "I don't know what else to say, we are all truly thankful."
Pongsak Thaenna, one of the released Thai hostages, who was kidnapped during the deadly Oct 7, 2023 attack by Hamas and held in Gaza, hugs his father and brother as the hostages arrived in Thailand following their release, at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, in Samut Prakan, Thailand, on Sunday. (Reuters photo)
Mr Bannawat reunited with his wife Wichayada Sae-yang, 22, who said that she had always prayed for his safe return. They have three children aged one, four and six years old. She said the kids had kept asking when Mr Bannawat would return and why their father had not contacted them.
Nukan Suwannakham, 60, welcomed back her son Sathien and said she had visited as many shrines as possible to pray for his return, and also consulted fortune tellers to ask if he was alive.
“Every time I thought of him, I always cried as I thought that my son might already have been killed and buried,” she said.
According to Israeli authorities, Hamas militants abducted at least 240 people, including Israelis and foreign nationals, in an October 2023 attack on the Israeli border. During the attack, Hamas gunmen killed 41 Thais and kidnapped 30 Thai labourers. Later that year, the first group of Thai hostages was returned.
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, second from left, walks with released Thai hostages, who were kidnapped during the deadly Oct 7, 2023 attack by Hamas and held in Gaza, as they arrive in Thailand after being released, at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, in Samut Prakan, Thailand on Sunday. (Reuters photo)
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, who escorted the hostages back from Israel, expressed relief at their return. "This is emotional ... to come back to the embrace of their families," he said. "We never gave up and this was the fruit of that."
Mr Maris said he witnessed very touching moments of family reunion for the five Thai men when they arrived at the airport.
“Two families told me that they did not expect to have such an opportunity today,” the minister said.
“The tears of happiness from the families are the moral support for all government officials involved,” he said.
The minister said he congratulated the families for the release and return of the Thai workers and he was also worried about the mental condition of the five men after being held hostage for 15 months.
He promised the government would do its best to bring back the other Thai hostage still believed to be held captive by Hamas home, along with the bodies of two other Thai hostages.
"We still have hope and continue to work to bring them back," Mr Maris said, adding that this includes the bodies of two deceased Thai nationals.
Before the conflict, approximately 30,000 Thai labourers worked in Israel's agriculture sector, making them one of the largest migrant worker groups in the country. Nearly 9,000 Thais were repatriated following the attack.
The workers primarily come from Thailand's northeastern region, an area comprising villages and farming communities that is among the poorest in the country.
Released Thai hostages Surasak Rumnao, Sathian Suwannakham, Bannawat Saethao, Watchara Sriaoun, and Pongsak Thaenna, who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas and held in Gaza, arrive in Thailand after being released, at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, in Samut Prakan, Thailand, on Thursday. (Reuters photo)